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PoK must have a democratic system: Mehbooba

Staff Reporter

"People must be included in the peace process as they know ground reality"

Mehbooba Mufti

Jammu : People Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti said on Saturday that the democratic system in Jammu and Kashmir must be replicated in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

Talking to reporters here, Ms.Mufti said the faith in the democratic process was restored in J&K after the 2002 Assembly elections turned out to be free and fair. The process must be replicated across the Line of Control so that the people there also enjoyed democratic rights. She said the people of the State must be included in the peace process as they knew the ground reality.

An institutional mechanism should be established between elected representatives on both sides of the Line of Control for facilitating trade, tourism and business.

Regional federalism

Ms. Mufti said her party's self-rule formula included regional federalism which desired the participation of the people of various regions and ethnicities in the social, political and economic spheres.

Self-rule formula even took into account the external dimension of the Kashmir issue and included the people of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir too.

Ms. Mufti stated that the National Conference's autonomy plank, in sharp contrast, failed to take into account the divergent viewpoints of the people of the State.

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